ETFGI report on ETFs and ETPs listed globally – December 2018

ETFGI reported today that ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of US$76.24 Bn during December. Despite the turmoil witnessed in developed markets during December, ETFs and ETPs listed globally attracted the 2nd highest net inflow on record, rivalled only by January 2018, which saw inflows of US$105.70 Bn.

Total Assets invested in the global ETF and ETP industry fell 5.28% by the end of December, from US$5.06 Tn at the end of November, to US$4.79 Tn, according to ETFGI’s December 2018 Global ETF and ETP industry landscape insights report. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted, current figures are based on preliminary data)

“The end of 2018 saw the trend in developed markets reverse, and although arguably predictable, the severity left many pundits scratching their heads. This end of year stress has widely been attributed to the disruption caused by trade disputes feeding into economic data, and the view policy makers are not going to be quite as accommodating as initially expected. The S&P 500 returned -9.03% during December, and down -4.38% for 2018. Developed markets ex-US fell -4.62% during December, led by Japan and Canada, bringing the yearly return to -13.21%. Relatively speaking, EM and FM faired the month better, returning -2.68% and -3.15%, finishing 2018 -13.53% and -11.82%, respectively” according to Deborah Fuhr, managing partner and founder of ETFGI.

Throughout 2018, the global ETF/ETP industry has continued to grow. January 2018 saw the largest monthly inflow into ETFs/ETPs on record, pushing assets above $5 Tn for the first time. The record for assets invested in ETFs/ETPs was set in September 2018 at $5.26 Tn, an 8.6% increase over 2017. However, with most major indices finishing the year in the red, assets invested in the global ETF/ETP industry finished 2018 down, albeit only 0.6%, supported by consistent positive inflows.At the end of December 2018, the Global ETF/ETP industry had 7,657 ETFs/ETPs, with 14,993 listings, assets of $4.79 Tn, from 401 providers listed on 71 exchanges in 57 countries. Following net inflows of $76.24 Bn and market moves during the month, assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally decreased by 5.28%, from $5.06 Tn at the end of November 2018, to $4.79 Tn.

Growth in Global ETF and ETP assets as of the end of December 2018

Equity ETFs/ETPs listed globally attracted net inflows of $50.87 Bn in December, growing net inflows for 2018 to $362 Bn, less than the $471 Bn in net inflows seen by equity-based products during 2017. Fixed Income ETFs and ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of $21.17 Bn in December, bringing net inflows for 2018 to $107 Bn, less than the $142 Bn seen during 2017.

December marked the 59th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed globally, for 2018 ETFs/ETPs listed globally have seen inflows of $516 Bn, less than the $654 Bn in net inflows gathered in 2017.

Substantial inflows during December can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $40.79 Bn. The iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY US) gathered $3.36 Bn, the largest net inflow in December.

Top 20 ETFs by net new assets December 2018: Global

Name

Ticker

Assets
(US$ Mn)
Dec-18

ADV
(US$ Mn)
Dec-18

NNA
(US$ Mn)
YTD 2018

NNA
(US$ Mn)
Dec-18

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

SHY US

20,624

431

9,288

3,357

iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF

SHV US

20,690

346

12,672

3,340

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

AGG US

57,078

751

5,559

2,669

iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF

IWD US

37,631

740

581

2,544

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

IVV US

147,540

2,061

18,592

2,470

Reliance CPSE ETF

CPSEBE IN

4,063

22

2,344

2,344

Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

BSV US

27,945

311

4,149

2,332

iShares Russell 1000 ETF

IWB US

17,920

436

(1,483)

2,205

TOPIX Exchange Traded Fund

1306 JP

71,167

26

22,288

2,166

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

VEA US

65,145

1,347

9,639

2,080

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

VTI US

93,577

939

9,848

1,987

iShares MSCI ACWI ETF

ACWI US

10,604

543

2,897

1,931

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

BIL US

8,668

197

6,724

1,696

iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility ETF

USMV US

18,997

378

4,223

1,638

iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF

ACWX US

4,783

231

2,098

1,466

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA US

62,059

3,386

(10,621)

1,419

Daiwa ETF TOPIX

1305 JP

34,176

6

11,166

1,355

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

SDY US

16,356

169

836

1,309

Listed Index Fund TOPIX

1308 JP

31,765

5

9,198

1,264

iShares National Muni Bond ETF

MUB US

11,862

203

2,433

1,213

The top 10 ETPs by net new assets collectively gathered $3.84 Bn by the end of December 2018.

Top 10 ETPs by net new assets December 2018: Global

Name

Ticker

Assets
(US$ Mn)
Dec-18

ADV
(US$ Mn)
Dec-18

NNA
(US$ Mn)
YTD 2018

NNA
(US$ Mn)
Dec-18

SPDR Gold Shares

GLD US

31,518

1,010

(1,815)

1,057

iShares Physical Gold ETC

SGLN LN

4,350

3

1,170

635

NH QV KOSPI Volatility Matching Strangle ETN 57

550057 KS

629

0

623

623

Invesco Gold ETC

SGLD LN

4,932

5

315

363

iShares Gold Trust

IAU US

11,545

158

1,599

345

ETFS Physical Gold

PHAU LN

6,662

8

536

295

VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil ETN

UWT US

393

130

514

224

Xtrackers Physical Gold ETC (EUR)

XAD5 GY

2,536

1

1,884

110

Xtrackers Brent Crude Oil Booster Euro Hedged ETC

XETC GY

248

1

142

97

ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Crude Oil

UCO US

351

64

(45)

92

Investors have tended to invest in short duration fixed income, market cap and lower cost ETFs in December.